Page 12 - aruba-today-20210128

A12 SCIENCE
Thursday 28 January 2021
Empty seas: Oceanic shark populations dropped 71% since 1970

By CHRISTINA LARSON especially vulnerable,” said
AP Science Writer Pacoureau. “Their popula-
WASHINGTON (AP) — When tions cannot replenish as
marine biologist Stuart San- quickly as many other kinds
din talks about sharks, it of fish.” The number of fish-
sounds like he’s describing ing vessels trolling the open
Jedis of the ocean. “They ocean has risen steeply
are terrific predators, fast since the 1950s, as engine
swimmers and they have power expanded ships’
amazing senses — they can range. And while climate
detect any disturbance in change and pollution also
the ocean from great dis- imperil shark survival, in-
tance,” such as smells or This 2001 photo provided by Dr. Greg Skomal shows a shortfin mako shark off the coast of creased fishing pressure is
tiny changes in water cur- Massachusetts. Associated Press the greatest threat for ev-
rents. Their ability to quickly ery oceanic shark species.
sense anything outside ing on 57 global datasets been pretty devastating for such as tuna and swordfish. “When you remove top
the norm in their environ- underscores just how dra- global shark populations,” Sharks and rays are both predators of the ocean, it
ment helps them find prey matically worldwide popu- said Nathan Pacoureau, fish with skeletons made impacts every part of the
in the vastness of the open lations have collapsed in a biologist at Simon Fraser of cartilage, not bone. In marine food web,” said
ocean. But it also makes the past half century. University in Canada and a contrast to most other kinds Stuart Pimm, an ecologist
them especially vulnerable Globally, the abundance co-author of the study. of fish, they generally take at Duke University, who
in the face of increased in- of oceanic sharks and rays Sometimes sharks are inten- several years to reach sex- was not involved in the
ternational fishing pressure, dropped more than 70% tionally caught by fishing ual maturity, and they pro- study. “Sharks are like the
as global fishing fleets have between 1970 and 2018, fleets, but more often they duce fewer offspring. lions, tigers and bears of
doubled since 1950. according to a study pub- are reeled in incidentally as “In terms of timing, they the ocean world, and they
“You drop a fishing line lished Wednesday in the “ bycatch,” in the course reproduce more like mam- help keep the rest of the
in the open ocean, and journal Nature. of fishing for other species mals – and that makes them ecosystem in balance.”q
often it’s sharks that are And 24 of the 31 species of
there first — whether or not sharks and rays are threat-
they’re the primary target,” ened with extinction, while Can COVID-19 vaccines be mixed
said Sandin, who works at three species — oceanic
the Scripps Institution of whitetip sharks, scalloped and matched?
Oceanography. hammerhead sharks and
Scientists have known for great hammerhead sharks By The Associated Press
decades that individual — are considered critically Can COVID-19 vaccines
shark species are declin- endangered. be mixed and matched?
ing, but a new study draw- “The last 50 years have Health officials say both
doses should be of the
By Dave Green same kind.
4 8 3 The COVID-19 vaccines
rolling out in the United
9 6 3 2 5 States, the United King-
dom and other parts of
1 the world so far require
two shots given a few
1 9 4 8 weeks apart.
In the U.S. where vaccines
4 3 from Pfizer and Moderna A pharmacist holds a vial of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19
Vaccine, left, alongside the a vial of saline solution it will be
are
distributed,
being
mixed with at a vaccination site at the Corsi Houses, Friday,
health officials say the
7 3 5 1 2021 Conceptis Puzzles, Dist. by King Features Syndicate, Inc. two aren’t interchange- Jan. 15, 2021, in the East Harlem neighborhood of New York.
Associated Press
able even though they’re
7 made similarly. situa- The CDC also said the dlund said in an email.
doses could be given up The original recommen-
“exceptional
In
3 6 5 2 9 tions” when the same kind to six weeks apart if it’s not dations on doses and
isn’t available or if it’s not possible to give the sec-
timing should still be fol-
2 8 6 known what was given for ond dose at the recom- lowed, but the agency
the first shot, the U.S. Cen-
didn’t want its guidance
mended interval.
1/28 ters for Disease Control For the Pfizer vaccine, “to be so rigid that it cre-
Difficulty Level
and Prevention said in re-
the second dose is rec-
ates unintended barriers,”
cently updated guidance ommended three weeks Nordlund said.
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